)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

CIVIL ENGINEERING
)Strength of Materials(
Deflections by the method of superposition

‫ محمد علي حاتم عبد‬:‫اسم الطالب‬

‫ الهندسة المدنية‬:‫القسم‬
‫ البناء وإدارة المشاريع‬:‫الفرع‬
‫ الثانية‬:‫المرحلة‬
‫ مقاومة المواد‬:‫المادة‬

2020/06/22 / ‫تاريخ تسلم التقرير‬

)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

Introduction

Beams deflection
In many cases of structural and machine designs, members must resist the force
applied laterally or transversely to their axes. Such members are called beam. The main
members supporting floors of buildings are beams, just as an axle of a car is a beam.
Many shafts act simultaneously as torsion members and as beams. So far it can be said
.beam is an integral part of the construction
Beam deflection means the state of deformation of a beam from its original shape under the work
of a force or load or weight. One of the most important applications of beam deflection is to obtain
equations with which we can determine the accurate values of beam deflections in many practical
cases. Deflections are also used in the analysis of statically indeterminate beams. 1

It's deformation in element that subjected to bending

Methods to Determine Beam

Deflection
Several methods are available for determining beam
deflections. The principle is the same but differs in
technique and in their immediate objective.

• Direct Integration Method

• Area moment Method
• Conjugate Beam Method
• Method of Superposition

StructureBeam Deflection. (n.d.). Retrieved from civiltoday: https://civiltoday.com/structural-engineering/197-beam-

deflection
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

Method of superposition

The method of superposition is a practical and commonly used technique for obtaining
deflections and angles of rotation of beams. The underlying concept is quite simple
and may be stated as follows:
Under suitable conditions, the deflection of a beam produced by several different loads
acting simultaneously can be found by superposing the deflections produced by the
same loads acting separately2

For instance, if (𝓥₁) represents the deflection at a particular point on the axis of a beam due to
a load (₁), and if (𝓥₂) represents the deflection at that same point due to a different load (𝓆₂),
then the deflection at that point due to loads (𝓆₁) and (𝓆₂) acting simultaneously (𝓥₁+𝓥₂).
(The loads (𝓆₁) and (𝓆₂) are independent loads and each may act anywhere along the axis of
the beam.)
As an illustration of the superposition method, consider the
simple beam ACB shown in Fig. (1-1a). This beam supports FIGURE 1-1
two loads:
Simple beam with two loads

(1) a uniform load of intensity 𝓆 acting throughout the span

(2) a concentrated load 𝒫 acting at the midpoint. Suppose
you wish to find the deflection (δC) at the midpoint and the
angles of rotation (θA) and (θB) at the ends (Fig. 1-1b).
Using the method of superposition, first obtain the effects of
each load acting separately and then combine the results.

For the uniform load acting alone, the deflection at the

midpoint and the angles of rotation are:

5𝑞𝐿4 𝑞𝐿³
(δ𝐂) ₁ = , (θ𝐀)₁ = (θ𝐁)₁ =
384𝐸𝐼 24𝐸𝐼
in which EI is the flexural rigidity of the beam and L is its length.

For the load 𝒫 acting alone, the corresponding quantities are:

𝒫𝐿³ 𝒫𝐿²
(δ𝐂) ₂ = , (θ𝐀)₂ = (θ𝐁)₂ =
48𝐸𝐼 16𝐸𝐼

2
Barry J. Goodno, J. M. (2016). Mechanics of Materials ,Ninth Edition. Boston, USA: Nelson Education Ltd.
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

The deflection and angles of rotation due to the combined loading (Fig. 1-1a) are obtained by
summation :

5𝑞𝐿4 𝒫𝐿³
(δ𝐂) = (δ𝐂) ₁ + (δ𝐂) ₂ = +
384𝐸𝐼 48𝐸𝐼

𝑞𝐿³ 𝒫𝐿²
(θ𝐀) = (θ𝐁) = (θ𝐀)₁ + (θ𝐀)₂ = +
24𝐸𝐼 16𝐸𝐼
The deflections and angles of rotation at other points on the beam axis can be found by this
same procedure. However, the method of superposition is not limited to finding deflections and
angles of rotation at single points. The method also may be used to obtain general equations
for the slopes and deflections of beams subjected to more than one load.

Tables of Beam Deflections

he method of superposition is useful only when formulas for deflections and slopes are readily
available. To provide convenient access to such formulas, table is given in the figure3. Similar
tables can be found in engineering handbooks. Use these tables and the method of super-
position to find deflections and angles of rotation for many different loading conditions, as
illustrated in the examples at the end of this Scientific Report.

Here's a table with the slopes and deflections of some

common statically determinate beams. Using these
kinds of tables can greatly speed up many mechanics
of materials and structural analysis problems. The
positive sign convention for the outputs is defined in
orange, and the equations assume that the external
loading is applied in the direction specified on the
drawing. If your loading is opposite (for example, a
counter-clockwise applied moment at point B on the
cantilever beam) then make sure you input it as a
negative value. Please take a second to actually think
about the answers you get from using these shortcuts.
If the formula is telling you that your displacement is
upwards, but you think it should be downwards, then
check your work for errors until you are satisfied.

3
engineer4free .)2016( .Beam slope and deflection table ‫ تم االسترداد من‬.engineer4free:
https://www.engineer4free.com/extras/beam-slope-and-deflection-table
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

Distributed Loads4
Sometimes a distributed load of interest is not included in a table of beam deflections. In such cases,
superposition still may be useful. Con- sider an element of the distributed load as though it were a
concentrated load, and then find the required deflection by integrating throughout the region of the beam
where the load is applied.

To illustrate this process of integration, consider a simple beam ACB with a triangular load acting on the left-
hand half (Fig. 1-2a).

The goal is to obtain the deflection (δC) at the midpoint C and the
angle of rotation (θA) at the left-hand support (Fig. 1-2c). FIGURE 1-2
Begin by visualizing an element qdx of the distributed load as a con- Simple beam with a triangular load
centrated load (Fig. 1-2b) The formula given there for the midpoint
deflection (for the case in which a ≤ b) is

𝒫𝑎
(3L2 − 4𝑎2 )
48𝐸𝐼

In this example (Fig. 1-2b) substitute qdx for 𝒫 and x for a:

(𝑞𝑑𝑥)(𝑥)
(3L2 − 4𝑥 2 )
48𝐸𝐼
This expression gives the deflection at point C due to the
element qdx of the load.
Next, note that the intensity of the uniform load (Figs. 1-2a and
b) is:
(2𝑞₀ )(𝑥)
𝑞=
𝐿

where q₀ is the maximum intensity of the load. With this substitution

for q, the formula for the deflection becomes:

(𝑞₀)(𝑥 2 )
(3𝐿2 − 4𝑥 2 )𝑑𝑥
24𝐿𝐸𝐼
Now, integrate throughout the region of the load to obtain the deflection (δC)
at the midpoint of the beam due to the entire triangular load :
𝐿
2( 𝑞₀)(𝑥2)
(δ𝐂) = ∫ (3𝐿2 − 4𝑥2 ) 𝑑𝑥
0 24𝐿𝐸𝐼

𝑞₀
𝐿
2( 𝑞₀) (𝑥 2) 𝑞₀𝐿⁴
= ∫ (3𝐿2 − 4𝑥 2 ) 𝑑𝑥 =
24𝐿𝐸𝐼 0 24𝐿𝐸𝐼 240𝐸𝐼

4
Barry J. Goodno, J. M. (2016). Mechanics of Materials ,Ninth Edition. Boston, USA: Nelson Education Ltd.

.Tables of Beam Deflections .)2004( .Appendix

)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

By a similar procedure, you can calculate the angle of rotation θA at the left-hand end of the beam
(Fig. 1-2c). The expression for this angle due to a concentrated load 𝒫 is:

𝑝𝑎𝑏(𝐿 + 𝑏)
6𝐿𝐸𝐼

Replace 𝒫 with 2q₀xdx / L, a with x, and b with L-x to obtain:

2𝑞₀(𝐿 − 𝑥)(𝐿 + 𝐿 − 𝑥)𝑥 2 𝑂𝑅

𝑞₀ (𝐿 − 𝑥)(2𝐿 − 𝑥)𝑥 2
6𝐿2 𝐸𝐼 3𝐿2 𝐸𝐼
Finally, integrate throughout the region of the load:
𝐿
2 𝑞₀ 41𝑞₀𝐿³
(θ𝐀) = ∫ (𝐿 − 𝑥)(2𝐿 − 𝑥)𝑥2 𝑑𝑥 =
0 3𝐿2 𝐸𝐼 2880𝐸𝐼

This is the angle of rotation produced by the triangular load. This illustrates how to use superposition
and integration to find deflections and angles of rotation produced by distributed loads of almost
any kind. If the integration cannot be performed easily by analytical means, numerical methods can
be used.

Principle of Superposition
FIGURE 1-3
Simple indeterminate problems can be analyzed through
superposition technique. This technique bypasses the
explicit use of the compatibility conditions. The problem
is separated into determinate subproblems that can be
solved without the compatibility conditions. The solution
to an indeterminate problem is generated by adding the
subproblem solutions. The superposition technique is
illustrated by considering a beam as an example. A
beam of length C is fixed at both ends and is subjected
to a uniformly distributed load of intensity q per unit
length. The uniform beam with constant rigidity El is
shown in Fig. 1-3a. The free-body diagram of this beam
is shown in Fig. 1-3b. Because of symmetry, the
reactions are equal (RA = RB).5

5
Hopkins, S. P. (2004). Strength of Materials: A New Unified Theory for the 21st Century. Elsevier (USA): Butterworth-Heinemann.
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

Example 1-1
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

Example 1-2
)Deflections by the method of superposition( )Strength of Materials(

‫مراجع‬
.Tables of Beam Deflections .)2003( .Appendix
Barry J. Goodno, J. M. (2016). Mechanics of Materials ,Ninth Edition. Boston, USA: Nelson
Education Ltd.

engineer4free: ‫ تم االسترداد من‬.Beam slope and deflection table .)2016( .engineer4free

https://www.engineer4free.com/extras/beam-slope-and-deflection-table

StructureBeam Deflection. (n.d.). Retrieved from civiltoday:

https://civiltoday.com/structural-engineering/197-beam-deflection

Strength of Materials: A New Unified Theory for the 21st .)2004( .Dale Hopkins ،Surya Patnaik
.Elsevier (USA): Butterworth-Heinemann .Century